Capacitors and Dielectrics

Physics 1320L
Section 04

Evans A. Owusu
Felix Fosu Hayford
TA: Dylan Ward

October 1, 2024

1 Introduction
This lab explores the properties of capacitors and the effect of dielectrics on capacitance.
Capacitors are electronic components that can store and release electrical charges, and
its capacitance is determined by factors such as the surface area of two plates, the
distance between them, and the dielectric material present. Dielectrics, materials placed
between the plates of a capacitor, influence its ability to store charge by reducing the
effective elctric field. The effect of the dielectric on the behavior of a capacitor is given by
a unitless parameter called the dielectric constant, k. It has a value of 1 for vacuum and
is very close to 1 for air.
Capacitance, is defined as the ratio of the magnitude of the electric charge stored on one
of the capacitor's plates to the potential difference across those plates.
Mathematically, capacitance is expressed as:
Q
𝐶=
∆V

Where C is the capacitance, Q is the electric charge, ∆V is the potential the plates, and d
is the separation between them. The farad F is the standardized unit of capacitance. One
farad is defined as the capacitance of a capacitor that stores one coulomb C of charge Q
when a voltage of one volt V is applied across its terminals.

The purpose of this experinment was to investigate how different dielectric materials
affect the capacitance and to analyze their impact on the energy stored in the capacitor,
when capacitors are connected in series and also when connected in parallel.

In a series connection of capacitors, the total capacitance decreases because the

reciprocal of the total capacitance is the sum of the reciprocals of the individual
capacitances. Mathematically, it's expressed as:

1 1 1 1
= + +
𝐶𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3

In this arrangement, all capacitors share the same charge, and the total voltage across
the combination is the sum of the voltages across each capacitor.
In a parallel connection of capacitors, the total capacitance increases. The total
capacitance is the sum of the individual capacitances:

𝐶𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝐶1 + 𝐶2 + 𝐶3
In parallel, capacitors combine their charges, and the total charge is the sum of the
individual charges on each capacitor. All capacitors in parallel experience the same
voltage, equal to the source voltage.

2 Methods
The capacitances of two different fixed value capacitors were measured individually and
recorded using the digital capacitances meter (LCR meter). The two capacitors were then
connected in series and the effective capacitance was measured and recorded. After
which they were connected in parallel with the effective capacitance measured and
recorded.

An acrylic sheet is inserted between the movable plate of the parallel plate capacitor and
close the plates until they are in contact with the acrylic sheet and held securely. The
capacitance was measured and recorded. The acrylic plate was carefully removed
without changing the distance between the cylindrical plates. The capacitance was
measured and recorded with only air in between the plates. This was repeated with the
addition of the acrylic plate till it reaches the fifth and the capacitance was measured and
recorded accordingly using the LCR meter.

A Vernier caliper was used to measure the inner and outer diameter of the cylindrical
capacitor and the values recorded. Meter rule was used to measure the length and
recorded. The capacitance was then measured using the LCR meter.

3. Data

Effective Capacitance (Individual)

Capacitor 1 = 94.56 nF

Capacitor 2 = 21.18 nF

Effective Capacitance of the capacitors connected in Series = 17.3 nF

Effective Capacitance of the capacitors connected in Parallel = 115.74 nF

Parallel Plate Capacitor
The following summarizes the raw data collected during the experinment. The table
shows the measured capacitance for different dielectric materials, with the area
separation of the plates constant.
Number Of Acrylic Sheet Acrylic Capacitance ( pF) Air Capacitance( pF)
1 136.2 64.41
2 79.14 37.67
3 56.94 26.45
4 46.35 22.51
5 36.97 19.79
Table 1. Measured capacitance with different dielectric materials

Cylindrical Capacitor
Inner diameter of capacitor = 1.23 cm = 0.0123 m
Outer diameter = 2.54 cm = 0.0254 m
Capacitance of the cylindrical capacitor = 131.11 pF

4. Analysis
For capacitance connected in series the, the capacitance is calculated as:
Theoretical Effective Series Capacitance
1 1 1
= +
𝐶𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝐶1 𝐶2

1 1 1
= +
𝐶𝑒𝑓𝑓 94.56 𝑛𝐹 21.18 𝑛𝐹

Ceff = 17.3 nF
For capacitors connected in parallel, the capacitance is calculated as:
Theoretical Effective Parallel Capacitance

Ceff = C1 + C2
Ceff = 94.56 nF + 21.18 nF
Ceff = 115.74 nF
Comparing the experimental and theoretical value for both parallel and series connection,
the percentage error can be calculated below.
|𝜙𝑇 −𝜙𝐸 |
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = *100
𝜙𝑇

Where 𝜙𝑇 is the theoretical value and 𝜙𝐸 is the experimental value

Error Percentage For Parallel Connection

𝜙𝐸 = 115.74 nF
𝜙 𝑇 = 115.74 Nf
|115.74 𝑛𝐹−115.74 𝑛𝐹|
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = *100
115.74 𝑛𝐹

%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 0.0%

Error Percentage For Series Connection

𝜙𝐸 = 17.3 nF
𝜙 𝑇 = 17.3 nF
|17.3 𝑛𝐹−17.3 𝑛𝐹|
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = * 100
17.3 𝑛𝐹

%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 0.0%
The percentage error for both series connection and parallel connection were zero
meaning both the experimental and theoretical values were the same and thus the
experiments were conducted well.

C_acrylic vrs C_air

160
140 y = 2.1711x - 3.0568
R² = 0.9974
120
C_acry (pF)

100
80
60
40
20
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
C_air (pF)

Figure 1: Plot of Capacitance (Acrylic) versus Capacitance (Air)

The slope of this graph gives the dielectric constant. Its is derived below:
Determining the Dielectric constant (K) for acrylic
𝜀𝐴
Capacitance of air =
𝑑
𝜀𝐴
Capacitance of acrylic =𝑥
𝑑
Compering the two capacitance, we have
Cacrylic = x.Cair
Making X the subject
𝐶𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑐
𝑥=
𝐶𝑎𝑖𝑟

Hence 𝑥 is the dielectric constant

Theoretical Value For The Capacitance Of The Cylindrical Capacitor
Formular for a cylindrical capacitor
2𝜋𝐾𝜀𝐿
𝐶= 𝑏
𝐼𝑛[𝑎]

Where;
b = outer radius = 12.54* 10-3 m
a= inner radius = 6 * 10-3 m
k = dielectric constant
0.0125
C = (2 * 𝜋 * 1* 8.85 * 10-12 * 1.22) ÷ 𝐼𝑛[ 0.006 ]

C = 92.4*10-12
C = 92.4 pF
Comparing the experimental and theoretical value of the cylindrical capacitance, we have:
|131.11 𝑝𝐹−92.4 𝑝𝐹|
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = * 100
92.4 𝑝𝐹

%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 42%
Using Gauss’s Law to derive the concentric cylinder without dielectric
𝑞
Electric flux (Φ) = = Electric field (E) x Area (A)
𝜀
Area of a cylinder = 2πrl
Substituting we have;
𝑞
2πrL * E =
𝜀
𝑞
E=
2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀
Also,
∆𝑉
E= ; ΔX = Δr
∆𝑋
ΔV = E x Δr
ʃ dv = - ʃE x dr
V = ʃ E x dr
Substituting E into the integral, we have
𝑞
V=ʃ 𝑑𝑟
2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀
𝑞 1
V= ʃ 𝑑𝑟
2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀 𝑟
𝑞
V=[ 𝑥 𝐼𝑛 r]ba
2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀
𝑞
V=[ x (In(B) – In(A))]
2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀
𝑞
Also C =
∆𝑉
𝑞
Therefore C = 𝑞 𝑏
𝑥 𝐼𝑛[ ]
2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀 𝑎

2𝜋𝑟𝐿 𝜀
C= 𝑏
𝐼𝑛[ ]
𝑎
Capacitors connected in parallel increase total capacitance because each capacitor
stores charge independently. In contrast, capacitors connected in series reduce total
capacitance since they share the same charge. The significant increase in capacitance
when using an acrylic sheet as the dielectric, compared to air, is due to the higher
dielectric constant of acrylic. The dielectric constant, or relative permittivity, measures a
material's ability to store electrical energy in an electric field. Acrylic's higher dielectric
constant allows more charge to be stored between the plates, resulting in a higher
capacitance. This property of dielectric materials is often utilized to enhance capacitance
in capacitors.
Additionally, for a cylindrical capacitor, the capacitance is influenced by physical
dimensions like the length of the cylinders (L), the radius of the inner cylinder (a), and the
radius of the outer shell (b).
A longer cylinder or a greater difference between the radii (b - a) results in higher
capacitance due to increased surface area for charge storage. Overall, a cylindrical
capacitor’s capacitance is affected by its dimensions, dielectric properties, and applied
voltage.

5 Conclusion
This experiment demonstrated the influence of dielectric materials and physical
configurations on the capacitance of capacitors. Capacitors connected in series resulted
in a reduced total capacitance, while those connected in parallel increased total
capacitance. The use of an acrylic sheet as a dielectric material significantly raised
capacitance compared to air due to its higher dielectric constant, allowing greater charge
storage. Furthermore, the capacitance of a cylindrical capacitor was shown to depend on
its dimensions, with longer cylinders or a greater difference in radii increasing the
capacitance. These findings align with the theoretical principles of capacitance and the
role of dielectrics, confirming that dielectric materials like acrylic can enhance the energy
storage capacity of capacitors in practical applications.